Madhur Jaffrey, 'godmother' of Indian cooking

Laura Brehaut, Postmedia NewsOriginally published on January 25, 2016; National Post

Hundreds of millions of people in India eat vegetarian foods. While the UN has declared 2016 International Year of Pulses in an effort to promote health and food security benefits, vegetarians in India have a long history of using dried beans, legumes, pulses and split peas (collectively known as dal) as a significant source of protein. India’s vegetarian culinary tradition is among the most varied in the world, with layers of flavour achieved through spices – brown mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, ginger, and turmeric – and seemingly infinite uses of dal. It’s this variety that Madhur Jaffrey, often called the Julia Child of Indian cuisine, highlights in her collection of more than 200 recipes in Vegetarian India (Knopf, 2015).